At Home with Anne Rice
NYT goes home with Anne Rice. Interesting human interest piece, but these three paragraphs have a lot in them:
Ms. Rice, however, does not suffer casual observations. "Only people who don't know my books," she said gravely, would perceive the change as a major shift. A clumsy question about demons provoked an icy response: "I never wrote about demons. Have you ever read my books?" In particular, Ms. Rice bristles at the notion, held by some ill-informed persons, that her vampire books are light amoral entertainment. "I think they're very Christian books," she insisted, "by somebody outside the church, lost in the darkness, striving to find meaning and sometimes being rebellious."
From the main floor, where the furniture is mostly reproductions bought in New Orleans, she led this reporter downstairs, past some of Stan Rice's vibrant fauvist paintings (including a portrait of Ms. Rice). In the spacious library, outfitted with huge leather chairs and a gas fireplace, she pointed to a wall of books she used to research "Christ the Lord." Even more volumes on ancient history, early Christianity, biblical scholarship and Judaica were shelved upstairs and in the garage. The author's note at the end of "Christ the Lord" elaborates on Ms. Rice's exhaustive survey of the relevant literature.
On the Internet she has challenged bloggers who dismiss her, on religious grounds and otherwise, as unqualified to take on the subject. "I tell them it's sincerely written and it's the Jesus of the Gospels," she said.
With respect to the first paragraph, she seems to support what many others have said: horror shows what happens without good. Because all goodness comes from God, horror points to God. Previous post on same subject. Rice goes from vampire novels to a book about the boy Jesus, yet she doesn't perceive it as a major shift. Kind of odd. Books about the undead who bring death to a book about the Source of Life. On the surface, it's a major shift, yet Rice knows what she's talking about. Without the prospect of death, there is no life. Without the good, there is no evil.
On a more mundane level, the third paragraph above indicate that Rice knows the value of the blogosphere. I've seen some of her comments on Catholic blogs already. Bloggers are easily flattered. By spending a few moments responding to criticism or praise, she will get a good hearing for her book in the blogosphere. She's either has marketing or savvy or the humility to value the small voices who take an interest in her work.
